Service-tax Due date

Service-tax Due date extended

The Central Board of Excise and Customs has extended the due date for half yearly return for the period April 2011 to September 2011 from 25th October 2011 to 26th December 2011.

ORDER NO. 1/2011 - SERVICE TAX, DATED 20-10-2011
SECTION 70 OF THE FINANCE ACT, 1994 - FURNISHING OF RETURNS - DATE OF FILING RETURN EXTENDED FOR PERIOD APRIL 2011 TO SEPTEMBER 2011 FROM 25-10-2011 TO 26-12-2011

In exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 7(4) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 read with Notification No. 48/2011- Service-tax, dated 19th October 2011, Central Board of Excise and Customs hereby extends the date of submission of half yearly return for the period April 2011 to September 2011 from 25th October 2011 to 26th December 2011.

This is being done in view of the fact that the e-filing of service tax returns for all class of service tax assessees has been made mandatory for the first time vide Notification No. 43/2011- Service-tax, dated 25-8-2011, as such leaving less time for the trade to adjust to the requirement of e-filing.

An Overview of Digital Signature

An Overview of Digital Signature

The Central Board of Direct taxes announced on 1st July 2011, that all Individuals, HUFs and Partnership Firms who are liable to get their accounts audited under the Income Act 1961 will have to file their Income-Tax return online compulsorily using Digital signature for the financial year 2010-11.

Many people confuse a Digital Signature with an e-signature. An e-signature is a scanned image of your phys¬ical signature while Digital Signature is not a facsimile of a person's physical signature. A document with a Digital Signature will not contain any traditional signature but it will simply state that it has been digitally signed by (name of the person signing it). To know about Digital Signatures we will first have to understand what Digital Signature Certificates are.

What is a Digital Signature Certificate?

A Digital Signature Certificate, like hand written signature, establishes the identity of the sender filing the documents through internet which sender can not revoke or deny. Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of physical or paper certificates. Examples of physical certificates are drivers' licenses, passports or membership cards. A digital certificate can be presented electronically to prove your identity, to access information or services on the Internet or to sign certain documents digitally. In simple words, a document can be Digitally Signed using a Digital Signature Certificate.

Why is Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) required?

Like physical documents are signed manually, electronic documents, for example e-forms are required to be signed digitally using a Digital Signature Certificate. The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides for use of Digital Signatures on the documents submitted in electronic form in order to ensure the security and authenticity of the documents filed electronically. This is the only secure and authentic way that a document can be submitted electronically. Moreover a Digital Signature is the on¬ly way one can authenticate electronic or online transac¬tions “legally”. The potential for Digital Signatures is huge in services like e-procurement, filing of returns, filing of export-import licenses, financial transactions, digitization of land records, while using e-commerce web-sites and other transactional portals and other online trans¬actions like internet banking. You can even encrypt information in your e-mail using a private key of a Digital Signature.

Types of Digital Signature Certificates:

There are basically 3 types (or classes) of Digital Signature Certificates Class-1, Class-2 & Class-3, each having different level of security.

Class 1 signatures are used for identification of username/email ID. However it cannot be used to sign any Statutory / Business Documents whereas Class 2 & Class-3 -DSCs are issued to the Individuals and can be used for either Personal or Business Purposes.

Class 2 signatures can be availed from Dealers / Resellers of Certifying Authority, by submitting the prescribed documents. Here, the identity of a person is verified against a trusted, pre-verified database.

Class 3 signature is the highest level where the person needs to present himself or herself in front of a Registration Authority (RA) and prove his/ her identity by submitting the documents.

How does it work!!

TECHNICAL ASPECTS:

Digital signatures are an application of asymmetric key cryptography. Cryptography is primarily used as a tool to protect national secrets and strategies. It is extensively used by the military, the diplomatic services and the banking sector.

CRYPTOGRAPHY:

Cryptography is the science of using mathematics to encrypt and decrypt data. It enables a person to store sensitive information or transmit it across insecure networks (like the Internet) so that it cannot be read by anyone except the intended recipient

Data that can be read and understood without any special measures is called plaintext or clear text. Data which requires some special function to be performed on it before it can be read and understood, is called cipher text. The same plaintext, encrypted by using different keys, will result in different cipher text. The security of encrypted data is entirely dependent on two things: the strength of the cryptographic algorithm and the secrecy of the key.

Encryption is used to ensure that information is hidden from anyone for whom it is not intended, even those who can see the encrypted data. The process of reverting cipher text to its original plaintext is called decryption.

A cryptographic algorithm, or cipher, is a mathematical function (known as hash function) used in the encryption and decryption process. This hash function works in combination with a key (private key) to encrypt the plaintext (the original message).

The hash function software produces a fixed length of alphabets, numbers and symbols for any document. This is known as the hash result. However, the contents of this fixed length are never the same for two different documents. If even one letter in the document is altered, an entirely different hash result will be generated. The hash function software will always produce the same hash result for a particular message & it is practically impossible to reconstruct the original message from the hash result.

Customers are given two codes for verification —private and public keys. The public key and private key are nothing but extremely large numbers. Although the keys are mathematically related, it is almost impossible to obtain the private key by using the public key. If a particular private key was used to “sign” a message, then only the corresponding public key will be able to verify the “signature”. A Digital Signature usually contains owners name, company name and address, public key, certificate serial number, expiry date of the public key, certifying company ID, and Certifying Company’s Digital Signature.

salary Income upto Rs.5,00,000

There was lot of confusion by the salary class assessee’s to file the Income Tax return or not to file. Hence Income tax department has issued Notification to clarify the same.

Here is the Notification copy



Notification No.402/92/2006-MC (14 of 2011)
Government of India / Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes



New Delhi, dated the 23rd June, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified the scheme exempting salaried
taxpayers with total income up to Rs.5 lakh from filing income tax return for assessment year 2011-12, which will be due on July 31, 2011.

Individuals having total income up to Rs.5,00,000 for FY 2010-11, after allowable
deductions, consisting of salary from a single employer and interest income from deposits in a saving bank account up to Rs.10,000 are not required to file their income tax return. Such individuals must report their Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the entire income from bank interest to their employer, pay the entire tax by way of deduction of tax at source, and obtain a certificate of tax deduction in Form No.16.

Persons receiving salary from more than one employer, having income from sources
other than salary and interest income from a savings bank account, or having refund claims shall not be covered under the scheme.

The scheme shall also not be applicable in cases wherein notices are issued for filing the income tax return under section 142(1) or section 148 or section 153A or section 153C of the Income Tax Act 1961.


PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME FOR YOUR CLARIFICATIONS.

I KNOW MOST HAVE SEEN THE JULY CALENDAR, BUT THERE IS MORE TO THIS E-MAIL THAT IS INTERESTING.

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME WE WILL SEE AND LIVE THIS EVENT

Calendar for July 2011

Money bags

This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens
once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So, forward this to
your friends and money will arrive within 4 days. Based on Chinese
Feng Shui. The one who does not forward.....will be without money.


Kinda interesting - read on!!!


This year we're going to experience four unusual dates.

1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all...

Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add
the age you will be this year,

The results will be 111 for everyone in whole world. This is the year of
the Money!!!

The proverb goes that if you send this to eight good friends money will
appear in next four days as it is explained in Chinese FENGSHUI.

Those who don't continue the chain won't receive.......

Its a mystery, but its worth a try. good luck!

Pendulum Dowsing

Pendulum Dowsing:


A technique for searching for underground water, minerals, or anything invisible, by observing the motion of a pointer or the changes in direction of a pendulum, in response to unseen influences.

Also Pendulum dowsing is an ancient art of accessing information not available to us through the use of our senses. Basic dowsing pendulum consists of a weight suspended on a flexible string, chain, etc It works from subconscious mind and will understand / interpret correctly.

The subconscious mind is like a child and you need to be fairly precise in formulating your questions so there is no double meaning or room for wrong interpretation.

When you have dilemma to do certain work or to take decisions we suggest to contact dowsing expert for solutions.


How it works:

You don't ask: "Is this vitamin good?" as it's much too general. You can ask: "Will this vitamin benefit my body now?". The "now" is a very important part as your body's need do change.

You can test many different vitamins and supplements that way to find out which are the most appropriate for you at the time of asking.

Pendulum Dowsing is a wonderful technique to master which I have succeeded in 2001 with certificate Reiki Master in addition to Reiki.

I adopt this technique while VAASTU Consultations. I have achieved 100% satisfaction by my clients.

Fixed Deposits

Interest earned from Fixed Deposit

Income/Interest earned from fixed deposit account in the bank, the interest paid for the deposit will be taxable income and the banker will deduct the tax at source and pay you the remaining amount. This process is called as Tax Deduction at Source(TDS). Interest in excess of Rs.10,000/- only TDS comes into picture otherwise you do not have to worry about TDS. But, there is cases where the TDS is not applicable but still the banks may cut the income. It can be avoided if you act wisely and submit Form 15H (who is above 65 years) or Form 15G for others.
Suppose you do not have PAN or not submitted the PAN then you will be deducted TDS at the rate of 20% of your interest earned during the year.

If you have any doubts please e-mail to srinathkr@yahoo.com

36 AS 1 (issued 1979)
Accounting Standard (AS) 1
(issued 1979)
Disclosure ofAccounting Policies
(This Accounting Standard includes paragraphs 24-27 set in bold italic
type and paragraphs 1-23 set in plain type, which have equal authority.
Paragraphs in bold italic type indicate the main principles. This
Accounting Standard should be read in the context of the Preface to the
Statements of Accounting Standards1.)
The following is the text of the Accounting Standard (AS) 1 issued by
the Accounting Standards Board, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India on ‘Disclosure of Accounting Policies’. The Standard deals with the
disclosure of significant accounting policies followed in preparing
and presenting financial statements.
In the initial years, this accounting standard will be recommendatory in
character. During this period, this standard is recommended for use by
companies listed on a recognised stock exchange and other large commercial,
industrial and business enterprises in the public and private sectors.2
Introduction
1. This statement dealswith the disclosure of significant accounting policies
followed in preparing and presenting financial statements.
2. The view presented in the financial statements of an enterprise of its
state of affairs and of the profit or loss can be significantly affected by the
accounting policies followed in the preparation and presentation of the financial
statements. The accounting policies followed vary from enterprise to
enterprise.Disclosure of significant accounting policies followed is necessary
if the view presented is to be properly appreciated.
1 Attention is specifically drawn to paragraph 4.3 of the Preface, according to which
Accounting Standards are intended to apply only to items which are material.
2 It may be noted that this Accounting Standard is now mandatory. Reference may
be made to the section titled ‘Announcements of the Council regarding status of
various documents issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’
appearing at the beginning of this Compendium for a detailed discussion on the
implications of the mandatory status of an accounting standard.
Disclosure of Accounting Policies 41
3. The disclosure of some of the accounting policies followed in the
preparation and presentation of the financial statements is required by law in
some cases.
4. The Institute ofCharteredAccountants of India has, in Statements issued
by it, recommended the disclosure of certain accounting policies, e.g.,
translation policies in respect of foreign currency items.
5. In recent years, a few enterprises in India have adopted the practice of
including in their annual reports to shareholders a separate statement of
accounting policies followed in preparing and presenting the financial
statements.
6. In general, however, accounting policies are not at present regularly and
fully disclosed in all financial statements. Many enterprises include in the
Notes on the Accounts, descriptions of some of the significant accounting
policies. But the nature and degree of disclosure vary considerably between
the corporate and the non-corporate sectors and between units in the same
sector.
7. Even among the few enterprises that presently include in their annual
reports a separate statement of accounting policies, considerable variation
exists. The statement of accounting policies forms part of accounts in some
cases while in others it is given as supplementary information.
8. The purpose of this Statement is to promote better understanding of
financial statements by establishing through an accounting standard the
disclosure of significant accounting policies and the manner in which
accounting policies are disclosed in the financial statements. Such disclosure
would also facilitate a more meaningful comparison between financial
statements of different enterprises.
Explanation
Fundamental Accounting Assumptions
9. Certain fundamental accounting assumptions underlie the preparation
and presentation of financial statements. They are usually not specifically
stated because their acceptance and use are assumed.Disclosure is necessary
if they are not followed.
42 AS 1 (issued 1979)
10. The following have been generally accepted as fundamental accounting
assumptions:—
a. Going Concern
The enterprise is normally viewed as a going concern, that is, as continuing
in operation for the foreseeable future. It is assumed that the enterprise has
neither the intention nor the necessity of liquidation or of curtailingmaterially
the scale of the operations.
b. Consistency
It is assumed that accounting policies are consistent fromone period to another.
c. Accrual
Revenues and costs are accrued, that is, recognised as they are earned or
incurred (and not asmoney is received or paid) and recorded in the financial
statements of the periods to which they relate. (The considerations affecting
the process of matching costs with revenues under the accrual assumption
are not dealt with in this Statement.)
Nature of Accounting Policies
11. The accounting policies refer to the specific accounting principles and
the methods of applying those principles adopted by the enterprise in the
preparation and presentation of financial statements.
12. There is no single list of accounting policies which are applicable to all
circumstances. The differing circumstances in which enterprises operate in
a situation of diverse and complex economic activity make alternative
accounting principles and methods of applying those principles acceptable.
The choice of the appropriate accounting principles and the methods of
applying those principles in the specific circumstances of each enterprise
calls for considerable judgement by the management of the enterprise.
13. The various statements of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India combinedwith the efforts of government and other regulatory agencies
and progressive managements have reduced in recent years the number of
acceptable alternatives particularly in the case of corporate enterprises.
While continuing efforts in this regard in future are likely to reduce the
number still further, the availability of alternative accounting principles
and methods of
Disclosure of Accounting Policies 43
applying those principles is not likely to be eliminated altogether in view of
the differing circumstances faced by the enterprises.
Areas inWhichDifferingAccounting Policies are Encountered
14. The following are examples of the areas in which different accounting
policies may be adopted by different enterprises.
• Methods of depreciation, depletion and amortisation
• Treatment of expenditure during construction
• Conversion or translation of foreign currency items
• Valuation of inventories
• Treatment of goodwill
• Valuation of investments
• Treatment of retirement benefits
• Recognition of profit on long-term contracts
• Valuation of fixed assets
• Treatment of contingent liabilities.
15. The above list of examples is not intended to be exhaustive.
Considerations in the Selection of Accounting Policies
16. The primary consideration in the selection of accounting policies by an
enterprise is that the financial statements prepared and presented on the
basis of such accounting policies should represent a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the enterprise as at the balance sheet date and of the profit
or loss for the period ended on that date.
17. For this purpose, the major considerations governing the selection and
application of accounting policies are:—
44 AS 1 (issued 1979)
a. Prudence
In viewof the uncertainty attached to future events, profits are not anticipated
but recognised only when realised though not necessarily in cash. Provision
ismade for all known liabilities and losses even though the amount cannot be
determined with certainty and represents only a best estimate in the light of
available information.
b. Substance over Form
The accounting treatment and presentation in financial statements of
transactions and events should be governed bytheir substance and notmerely
by the legal form.
c. Materiality
Financial statements should disclose all “material” items, i.e. items the
knowledge ofwhichmight influence the decisions of the user of the financial
statements.
Disclosure of Accounting Policies
18. To ensure proper understanding of financial statements, it is necessary
that all significant accounting policies adopted in the preparation and
presentation of financial statements should be disclosed.
19. Such disclosure should form part of the financial statements.
20 It would be helpful to the reader of financial statements if they are all
disclosed as such in one place instead of being scattered over several
statements, schedules and notes.
21. Examples ofmatters in respect ofwhich disclosure of accounting policies
adopted will be required are contained in paragraph 14. This list of examples
is not, however, intended to be exhaustive.
22. Any change in an accounting policy which has amaterial effect should
be disclosed. The amount by which any item in the financial statements is
affected by such change should also be disclosed to the extent ascertainable.
Where such amount is not ascertainable, wholly or in part, the fact should be
indicated. If a change ismade in the accounting policieswhich has nomaterial
effect on the financial statements for the current period but which is
Disclosure of Accounting Policies 45
reasonably expected to have a material effect in later periods, the fact of
such change should be appropriately disclosed in the period in which the
change is adopted.
23. Disclosure of accounting policies or of changes therein cannot remedy
a wrong or inappropriate treatment of the item in the accounts.
Accounting Standard
24. All significant accounting policies adopted in the preparation and
presentation of financial statements should be disclosed.
25. The disclosure of the significant accounting policies as such should
form part of the financial statements and the significant accounting
policies should normally be disclosed in one place.
26. Any change in the accounting policies which has a material effect
in the current period or which is reasonably expected to have a material
effect in later periods should be disclosed. In the case of a change in
accounting policies which has a material effect in the current period,
the amount by which any item in the financial statements is affected by
such change should also be disclosed to the extent ascertainable. Where
such amount is not ascertainable, wholly or in part, the fact should be
indicated.
27. If the fundamental accounting assumptions, viz. Going Concern,
Consistency and Accrual are followed in financial statements, specific
disclosure is not required. If a fundamental accounting assumption is
not followed, the fact should be disclosed.